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Sunday, 30 October 2016

Charles Atlas - bodybuilder

Poor immigrant from Calabria who transformed his body

Charles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano,
pictured in around 1920

The
bodybuilder Charles Atlas was born Angelo Siciliano on this day in 1893 in the
Calabrian town of Acri.

Acri,
set 720m above sea level straddling two
hills in the province of Cosenza, on the edge of what is now the mountainous
Sila National Park, was a poor town and while Angelo was growing up his father,
Santos, began thinking about joining the growing number of southern Italians
who had gone to forge a new life in America.

They made the
move when Angelo was 11. The journey by
sea from Naples took around two weeks. After registering their arrival at Ellis
Island, the immigrant inspection station in New York Bay, the family settled in Brooklyn.
Most accounts of Angelo’s life suggest that his father, a farmer,
returned to Italy within a short time but his mother remained, taking work as a
seamstress and endeavouring to make a better life for her children.

Angelo’s path
to becoming Charles Atlas and enjoying worldwide fame began with a classic
story of bullying. Like many Italian children of his time, having been born in part of the country where living conditions were difficult and good food was in short
supply, he was sickly and scrawny, an easy target to be picked on.

Humiliated at
the beach by being knocked down by a physically stronger youth and having sand
kicked in his face, Angelo was determined to build up his physique so that he
might one day feel that no one could bully him.

He was
inspired by the statues of Hercules, Apollo and Zeus at Brooklyn Museum and
began to train with home-made weights at his local YMCA.

The Dawn of Glory, a statue in Brooklyn
for which Atlas was the model

It was on a
visit to the Prospect Park Zoo that he
hit upon the idea that there might be another way to develop his body without
using weights. It would become the foundation of his life and the business that
would make him a wealthy man.

It came to him as he marvelled at the physical magnificence of lions. While watching a lion
stretch, he realized that the enormous animal was undergoing a natural
workout by "pitting one muscle
against another", harnessing his own strength to make himself stronger
still.

Back at home, Angelo began to devise isometric and isotonic exercises that required no weights,
which had the effect of honing and strengthening his body remarkably quickly.

Friends who
noticed the change nicknamed him Atlas after the figure in Greek mythology who was required to carry the heavens on
his shoulders.

By the age of
19, Angelo was able to make money by selling a device he had made as a chest developer
in front of stores in Manhattan, and performing feats of strength in vaudeville
shows. Then he was introduced to New
York’s community of sculptors who would pay him to be the model for numerous
statues. The 97lb weakling he had dubbed himself when the bullies
were doing their worst now weighed 180lb. He had a 47in chest, 17in biceps and 24in
thighs - but a waist of just 32in.

He won
bodybuilding competitions, changed his name to Charles Atlas and opened a mail
order business, selling his equipment and accompanying lifestyle guidance. It thrived for a while but his business sense was poor. He made poor decisions and spread himself too thin.

The famous ad for Atlas's method,
designed by Charles Roman

It all
changed, though, when he met Charles P Roman, a young advertising executive. They agreed that Angelo would concentrate on projecting his
own body, making public appearances, demonstrating his equipment and performing
stunts, while Charles diverted his focus to the business side of the
partnership.

Charles Atlas
Ltd was incorporated in 1929. Roman coined the name ‘Dynamic Tension’ to
describe the Atlas method and a year later wrote the copy for the
company’s most famous ad, depicting a young man who follows the Atlas method
and is able to avenge his humiliation at the hands of a beach bully who kicks
sand in his face.

The business
grew and prospered Charles Atlas became recognized as one of the world’s
foremost bodybuilding experts. Baseball
legend Joe di Maggio and boxer Rocky Marciano were among sportsmen who endorsed
his products.

He retired in
1970, selling his share of the business to Roman and settling for a quiet life
in Long Island, where he bought a house at Point Lookout, overlooking the
ocean. He ran along the beach each day
and continued to exercise. Married with
two children, he died at the age of 80 after suffering a heart attack.

The single surviving tower of the town's castle sits
atop one of Acri's two hills

Travel tip:Acri is a town of around 21,000 inhabitants situated close to the Sila National Park and the beautiful Lago Cicita in the province of Cosenza. It has suffered a number of earthquakes over the centuries and a lot of its buildings are of relatively recent construction yet many historic buildings survive, including the medieval church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which was rebuilt in the 17th century. On top of one of its two hills is the single remaining tower of a medieval castle.Hotels in Cosenza from Hotels.comTravel tip:Cosenza, a city with an urban area in which more than 250,000 people live, combines a no-nonsense modern city with a small and atmospheric historic town built on a hill. The pedestrianized centre of the new city has sculptures by the likes of Dalí, De Chirico and Pietro Consagra. The old town boasts the 13th century Castello Svevo, built on the site of a Saracen fortification, which hosted the wedding of Louis III of Naples and Margaret of Savoy but which the Bourbons used as a prison. (Photo of Dawn and Glory statue by Eden, Janine and Jim - CC BY 2.0)(Photo of Acri by Explorer at Italian Wikipedia - CC BY-SA 3.0)Home

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THE SHOOTING IN SORRENTO

The Shooting in Sorrento, a new crime novel set in the southern Italy resort, is now available from Amazon.
It is the second Butler and Bartorelli mystery by Val Culley, following Death in the High City, which was set in Bergamo in Lombardy.The book - written for readers who prefer the 'cosy crime' genre - features journalist Kate Butler and her partner, Steve Bartorelli, who is a retired Detective Chief Inspector.They are in Sorrento for the wedding of the daughter of one of Steve’s Italian cousins.When tragedy strikes an English family staying at their hotel, Kate feels she has to help.She joins forces with another visitor to Sorrento to investigate after it becomes clear the Italian police aren’t looking further than the English family.

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NOTICE

All facts given on this website have been carefully researched and are published by the Italy On This Day Editor in good faith. All travel advice, hotel and restaurant recommendations are based on information that has been checked and was correct at the time of writing.